Xiahou Shang (died May or June 226),According to the ''Book of Jin'', Xiahou Shang died in the 4th month of the 7th year of the ''Huangchu'' era of Cao Pi's reign. This corresponds to 14 May to 12 June 226 in the proleptic Gregorian calendar. ( ��初七年��月，征南大將軍夏侯尚薨。) ''Jin Shu'' vol. 13. marks his death year as 225 without any elaboration; this was in accordance to Shang's biography in ''Sanguozhi'' which recorded that he fell gravely ill in that year. The biography did not explicitly indicate when Shang died.

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

Boren, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of

Cao Wei Wei () was one of the major Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic states in China during the Three Kingdoms period. The state was established in 220 by Cao Pi based upon the foundations laid by his father Cao Cao during the end of the Han dy ...

during the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...

period of China. He was a distant younger relative of

Xiahou Yuan Xiahou Yuan () (died February 219), courtesy name Miaocai, was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He is known for his exploits in western China (in parts of prese ...

and a close friend of

Cao Pi Cao Pi () (late 187 – 29 June 226), courtesy name Zihuan, was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Cao Cao, a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty, but the ...

, the first emperor of the Cao Wei state.

Early life

Xiahou Shang was a distant younger relative of

and

Xiahou Dun Xiahou Dun () (died 13 June 220), courtesy name Yuanrang, was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Cao Cao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China.''Sanguozhi'' vol.9. He served for a few months under Cao Cao ...

, generals who served under

Cao Cao Cao Cao (; ; ; 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde, was a Chinese statesman, warlord, and poet who rose to power during the end of the Han dynasty (), ultimately taking effective control of the Han central government. He laid the foundation f ...

, the warlord who rose to power in the late

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

and laid the foundation for the

state in the

period. As a youth, he was already known for being well-versed in planning and strategy.

, one of Cao Cao's sons, highly regarded Xiahou Shang and treated him as a close friend.

Service under Cao Cao

In the 200s, when Cao Cao was at war with his rival

Yuan Shao Yuan Shao (, ; died 28 June 202), courtesy name Benchu (), was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. He occupied the northern territories of China during the civil wars that occurred tow ...

for control over northern China, Xiahou Shang served as a major () in Cao Cao's army and led cavalry forces into battle against Yuan Shao and his heirs. In 211,''Zizhi Tongjian'' vol. 66. after Cao Pi was appointed General of the Household for All Purposes () in the Han imperial court, Xiahou Shang served as a ''wenxue'' (文學; an officer of writings) under him. In 213, after

Emperor Xian Emperor Xian of Han (2 April 181 – 21 April 234), personal name Liu Xie (劉協), courtesy name Bohe, was the 14th and last emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty of China. He reigned from 28 September 189 until his abdication and subsequent end ...

, the figurehead emperor of the Han Empire, enfeoffed Cao Cao as the Duke of Wei (), Xiahou Shang was reassigned to be a Gentleman of the Yellow Gate () in Cao Cao's dukedom. In 216, Emperor Xian elevated Cao Cao from the status of a duke to a

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

king under the title "King of Wei" (). When the Wuchendi () branch of the

Wuhuan The Wuhuan (, < Eastern Han Chinese: *''ʔɑ-ɣuɑn'', <

Dai Commandery (代郡; around present-day

Yu County, Hebei Yu County, also known by its Chinese language, Chinese name Yuxian, is a Chinese county, county under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Zhangjiakou in northwestern Hebei province, China. Yuzhou, Hebei, Yuzhou town () is the coun ...

) and Shanggu Commandery (上谷郡; around present-day

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

) in May 218, Cao Cao ordered his son

Cao Zhang Cao Zhang () (189? – 1 August 223), courtesy name Ziwen, nickname "The Yellow Goatee" (黃鬚兒), was a prince of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was a son of Cao Cao, a warlord who rose to power towards the ...

to lead forces to quell the revolt. During this time, Xiahou Shang served as an army adviser () under Cao Zhang and assisted him in defeating the Wuchendi.

Service under Cao Pi

In March 220, after

died in

Luoyang Luoyang ( zh, s=洛阳, t=洛陽, p=Luòyáng) is a city located in the confluence area of the Luo River and the Yellow River in the west of Henan province, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zheng ...

, Xiahou Shang received orders to lead the convoy escorting Cao Cao's coffin back to Ye (鄴; in present-day

Handan Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwest of Hebei province, China. The southernmost prefecture-level city of the province, it borders Xingtai on the north, and the provinces of Shanxi on the west, Henan on the south and Shando ...

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

), the capital of the vassal Kingdom of Wei, for a proper funeral and burial.

, as Cao Cao's heir apparent, succeeded his father as the King of Wei and Imperial Chancellor of the Han Empire. He first appointed Xiahou Shang as a Regular Mounted Attendant and later promoted him to Commandant of the Central Army (). As a reward for Xiahou Shang's contributions, Cao Pi also enfeoffed him as the Marquis of Pingling Village (). In late 220,''Zizhi Tongjian'' vol. 69. Cao Pi usurped the throne from Emperor Xian, ended the Eastern Han dynasty, and established the

state with himself as the new emperor. After his coronation, he elevated Xiahou Shang from a village marquis to a district marquis under the title "Marquis of Pingling District" (). Xiahou Shang was also appointed as General Who Attacks the South () and Inspector () of

Jing Province Jingzhou or Jing Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China referenced in early Chinese texts such as the ''Yu Gong, Tribute of Yu'', ''Erya'', and ''Rites of Zhou''. Jingzhou became an administrative division during the reign of E ...

, and put in charge of supervising military affairs in the southern frontiers of Wei.

Battle of Shangyong

During this time, Xiahou Shang proposed to Cao Pi to launch an attack on Shangyong Commandery (上庸郡; around present-day Zhushan County,

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

), which was a territory of Cao Pi's rival

Liu Bei Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a China, Chinese warlord in the late Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty who later became the founding Emperor of China, emperor of Shu Han, one of the Three Kingdoms of ...

. Cao Pi approved and ordered him and Xu Huang to lead troops to attack Shangyong Commandery. Xiahou Shang achieved success in his mission and pacified a total of three commanderies and nine counties. Cao Pi promoted him to Senior General Who Attacks the South () in recognition of his achievements.

Battle of Jiangling

Sun Quan Sun Quan (; 182 – 21 May 252), courtesy name Zhongmou (), posthumous name, posthumously known as Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of Eastern Wu, one of the Three Kingdoms of China. He inherited control of the warlord regime established by hi ...

, another rival of Cao Pi, initially pledged allegiance to the Cao Wei state after Cao Pi became emperor in late 220. Cao Pi was so pleased that he awarded Sun Quan the title of a vassal king, "King of Wu" (), and recognised Sun Quan's claim to the territories in the Jiangdong region and southern

. Xiahou Shang knew that Sun Quan was only pretending to submit to Wei rule so he urged Cao Pi to maintain his guard against Sun Quan. As Xiahou Shang foresaw, Sun Quan broke ties with Cao Pi in 222 and declared himself the emperor of an independent Eastern Wu (or simply Wu) regime. In 222, Cao Pi retaliated against Sun Quan by launching the first of a series of campaigns against Wu. He ordered Xiahou Shang, Cao Zhen and others to lead troops to attack Jiangling (江陵; present-day

Jiangling County Jiangling () is a county in southern Hubei province, People's Republic of China. Administratively, it is under the jurisdiction of Jingzhou City. History The county name derived from the old name of Jingzhou. Liang Dynasty Prince Xiao Yi (蕭繹 ...

), which was defended by the Wu general Zhu Ran, while he was stationed at Wan (宛; in present-day

Nanyang, Henan Nanyang is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Henan province, China. The city with the largest administrative area in Henan, Nanyang borders Xinyang to the southeast, Zhumadian to the east, Pingdingshan to the northeast, Luoyang to the n ...

) to provide backup. Sun Quan ordered his general

Zhuge Jin Zhuge Jin (174 – July or August 241), courtesy name Ziyu, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Born in the late Eastern Han dynasty, Zhuge Jin started his career i ...

to attack Xiahou Shang. Zhuge Jin deployed his naval forces across different locations in the river. That night, Xiahou Shang ordered some 10,000 troops to split up and board smaller boats to cross the river and launch a stealth attack on Zhuge Jin on both land and water. They scored a major victory over Zhuge Jin as they burnt down the Wu ships and destroyed some Wu camps on the opposite bank of the river. In 223, when an epidemic broke out while Wei forces were laying siege to Jiangling, Cao Pi ordered the Wei forces to pull back, thus bringing an end to the campaign. As a reward for Xiahou Shang's contributions during the campaign, Cao Pi awarded him an additional 600 taxable households in his marquisate, bringing the total number up to 1,900. He also gave Xiahou Shang a ceremonial axe and promoted him to Governor () of Jing Province. When Xiahou Shang assumed governorship of (northern) Jing Province, the lands were barren and infrastructure was in ruins after years of war. Most of the population have migrated to the lands south of the Han River which were Wu territory. Besides, there were various non-

Han Chinese The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...

tribes living around Jing Province who occasionally started uprisings and caused trouble for the regional government. After conquering Shangyong Commandery (上庸郡; around present-day Zhushan County,

) in 221, Xiahou Shang used it as a bridge to establish contact with the non-Han Chinese tribes living in the lands 700 ''li'' to the west and succeeded in pacifying them and gaining their support. Within five to six years, thousands of households pledged allegiance to Wei. In 224, Cao Pi changed Xiahou Shang's marquis title to "Marquis of Changling District" ().

Family feud

Xiahou Shang married the younger sister of Cao Zhen, an adopted son of

and a close childhood friend of

.( ��侯��，爽之姑子也。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 9.(景懷夏侯皇后諱徽，字媛容，沛國譙人也。父尚，魏徵南大將軍；母曹氏，魏德陽鄉主。) ''Jin Shu'' vol. 31. In his later years, Xiahou Shang took a concubine, whom he loved dearly. A family feud broke out when Xiahou Shang's concubine started fighting with Cao Zhen's sister to become Xiahou Shang's official spouse. When Cao Pi heard about it, he decided to intervene as a show of support for his fellow members of the Cao clan, so he had Xiahou Shang's concubine executed by strangulation. Xiahou Shang was so upset by his concubine's death that he fell sick and his health started deteriorating. After burying his concubine, he stayed indoors all the time and refused to meet anyone. When Cao Pi heard about it, he remarked, "Maybe Du Xi had good reason(s) to look down on (Xiahou) Shang." Despite this incident, Cao Pi still highly favoured Xiahou Shang because he was a close childhood friend.

Death

In 225, when Xiahou Shang became critically ill, he had to be sent back to the Wei imperial capital,

, from his post in

. During this time, Cao Pi personally visited him, held his hand and sobbed with grief. Xiahou Shang died about a year later. Cao Pi honoured him with the posthumous title "Marquis Dao" () and wrote an official eulogy for him: "(Xiahou) Shang had been a close companion to me since my childhood. He was loyal, sincere and faithful. Although we did not have the same parents, we were as close as brothers. He was like my stomach and heart, and like claws and teeth to me. He was intelligent, perceptive and exceptionally brilliant. It is a pity that his life ended so early. Alas, such is life! I hereby grant him the posthumous appointment of Senior General Who Attacks the South and award him the seal of the Marquis of Changling."

Family

Xiahou Shang married Cao Zhen's younger sister, whose personal name is unknown; she was referred to as the Lady of Deyang District (). They had a son, Xiahou Xuan, and a daughter, Xiahou Hui. Xiahou Xuan inherited his father's peerage and marquisate as the Marquis of Changling (). Cao Pi removed 300 taxable households from the marquisate and awarded it to Xiahou Feng (), a nephew of Xiahou Shang who was enfeoffed as a Secondary Marquis (). Xiahou Shang had another daughter who married He You (), He Qia's son, and bore He Jiao ().(和嶠，字長輿，汝南西平人也。祖洽，魏尚書令。父逌，魏吏部尚書。嶠少有風格，慕舅夏侯玄之為人，厚自崇重。) ''Jin Shu'' vol. 45. Xiahou Shang also had a younger cousin Xiahou Ru (), according to the ''Weilüe'', who served as a military officer in Cao Wei under Zhang Ji ().

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

Xiahou Shang is a minor character in the 14th-century historical novel ''

Romance of the Three Kingdoms ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD and ...

'', which romanticises the historical figures and events before and during the

period. He participates in the

Battle of Mount Dingjun The Battle of Mount Dingjun was fought between the warlords Liu Bei and Cao Cao in February 219 during the End of the Han Dynasty, prelude to the Three Kingdoms stretch of History of China, Chinese history. Liu Bei's victory in the battle marke ...

as a subordinate of

against

's forces. During a skirmish, he is captured by the enemy and but is later released in exchange for the enemy officer Chen Shi, who was captured by Xiahou Yuan. During the exchange, Huang Zhong fires an arrow at him, which hits him in the back and seriously injures him.

References

* Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''

Records of the Three Kingdoms The ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' is a Chinese official history written by Chen Shou in the late 3rd century CE, covering the end of the Han dynasty (220 CE) and the subsequent Three Kingdoms period (220–280 CE). It is regard ...

'' (''Sanguozhi''). * * Fang, Xuanling (648). ''

Book of Jin The ''Book of Jin'' is an official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty (266–420), Jin dynasty from 266 to 420. It was compiled in 648 by a number of officials commissioned by the imperial court of the Tang dynasty, ...

'' (''Jin Shu''). * Luo, Guanzhong (14th century). ''

'' (''Sanguo Yanyi''). * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''

Annotated Records of the Three Kingdoms ''Annotated Records of the Three Kingdoms'' () by Pei Songzhi (372–451) is an annotation completed in the 5th century of the 3rd century historical text ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', compiled by Chen Shou. After the fall of the Eastern Jin ...

'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). {{DEFAULTSORT:Xiahou, Shang Year of birth unknown 226 deaths Cao Wei generals Cao Wei government officials Generals from Henan Generals under Cao Cao Political office-holders in Henan Politicians from Henan